An important part of reducing energy costs in the home is sealing air leaks. When heated or cooled air escapes from your home it has to be replaced by air from the outside. Unconditioned air from the outside has to be conditioned for your home to remain comfortable. If you can keep the conditioned air inside the home longer it will save energy dollars by not having to condition new air. It would be very difficult to stop all the air leakage in your home nor would your want to. For maintaining air quality it is recommended that natural air changes per hour not be less than .35, In other words a little over one-third of the entire volume of air should be replaced with fresh air every hour.

Example of Attic Air Sealing

When air sealing you should begin with the largest leaks first. Begin by sealing air leakage into the attic, Attic Hatch or accesses need to be weather stripped and insulated. Most times tradesmen cut or drill holes in framing and do not seal around the object,any plumbing and wiring  penetrations should be sealed.Caulking or expanding foam can be enough to seal most of these areas, backer rod can be used to fill larger cracks before caulking. Another problem area in attic are kitchen and bathroom soffits; this is an area where the soffit is framed, then sheetrock is installed around the soffit instead of to the ceiling joists leaving the soffit and often the wall open to the attic. These can be sealed by covering the opening with a fire rated foam board, plywood or sheetrock, then caulking or foaming the edges. Look for dirty spots in the insulation they often indicate holes where air is leaking from inside the house. If you have an attic or whole house fan sealing the shutters will make a big difference. Recessed light fixtures can be another air leakage area,be careful with these, some are not rated to be covered with insulation or sealed. You can use a high temperature silicone sealant where the housing of the light meets the ceiling, then you can build a drywall air seal or box around it leaving clearance around the fixture for ventilation. If you are using  Cfls ( Compact Fluorescent Lamps ). in these fixtures heat won’t be as much of an issue.

If you have a conventional fireplace you might want to consider putting in a fireplace insert. Electric inserts don’t require a vent so you can seal the flue so that the heat doesn’t escape. A gas insert requires a vent but it should be smaller than the fireplace chimney. There are ventless inserts and gas logs but I don’t recommend using any ventless gas appliance unless it is only used for backup heating. in case of a power failure.

If you don’t use your fireplace at all plug and seal the chimney flue. If used occasionally be sure the damper is tightly closed when not in use. Fireplace doors can help, installed properly doors can help reduce heat loss. Be sure the fireplace grate is in good condition before using as logs rolling out can be a big problem.

What it comes down to is if you have a fireplace be sure not to forget it when your planning energy savings in your home.

Ideally there would be a return duct in every room where there is a supply duct , that is usually not the case as that doubles the amount of duct work and is more expensive.  Most of the time there will be one or two larger ducts for the return located centrally in the home,

All ducts, supply and return, should be sealed as air tight as possible and insulated especially if it is in an unconditioned space. I recommend sealing all joints and cracks in in the duct-work with duct mastic and insulating with duct wrap insulation.  In my experience using a good foil tape on joints and covering that with mastic works pretty good. Regular duct tape has a tendency to to dry out and come off. Insulation should also be secured to the ducts with tie wire or plastic ties so that it stays where you put it.

Sealing and insulating duct-work can be a dirty, messy job it usually involves crawling around under the house or in the attic. You might want to have a professional do it, but if your a do -it- your self-er  it’s not complicated. It will just take some time and effort. It could save you money.

Programmable Thermostats, sometimes called set-back or smart thermostats, can be set to multi daily settings per day that can be manually overridden without affecting the rest of the daily settings. As a result your equipment will run less when it is not needed and you will save energy, money, and be greener.

Formulate A Plan

1. How much money do you spend on energy?
2. Where are you losing the most energy?
3. How long will an investment in efficiency pay for itself in savings?
4. Can I do it myself or do I need to hire a Contractor ?
5. What is your budget for making improvements ?

Once you have your priorities assigned you can form a whole house efficiency plan and strategies for making smart purchases and improvements to maximize energy efficiency.

Another option is to seek the advice of a professional. Many utilities conduct energy audits for free or for a small fee.

Lighting

One of the fastest and easiest ways to to increase efficiency and reduce energy consumption is to change incandescent light bulbs with Cfls ( Compact Fluorescent Lamps ).  Cfls are more efficient than incandescent blubs and last 6 to ten time longer. Although Cfls are more expensive than incandescents they pay for themselves by saving energy over their lifetime.

Water Heating

Another easy way to save energy is at your water heater. Unless you have an “on demand” tankless water heater you at heating water 24/7. You can save by lowering the temperature that you keep the water. 120 degrees or lower is pretty good and there is less chance of scalding. You can also install an insulation blanket on your water heater but read the documentation for your heater wrapping it could void the warranty. Also use pipe wrap insulation on the first 6 to 10 feet of the hot water line. If you have a gas water heater be sure to stay well clear of the vent pipe and draft diverter.

Maintain Your Heating/Cooling System

The heating /cooling system in your home typically uses more energy than any other system in your home.Proper maintenance is essential. Consider upgrading older equipment to more efficient systems. But remember even the most efficient equipment will only help if you can keep the warm or cool;air inside the house. A whole house approach is best.

• Tips:
• Set thermostat as low in winter as is comfortable and as high as is comfortable in summer
• Clean or replace filters once a month or as needed
• clean registers as needed
• use bath or kitchen ventilation fans only as needed.
• During heating season keep draperies and shades on south facing widows open to allow sunlight to enter.

Insulation

First check your insulation level in the attic, exterior walls, and basement walls.  Insulation is measured in R-values. The higher the R-value the more resistant it is to the transfer of heat. Many older homes have no insulation or are under-insulated.  Insulation usually comes in four types: batts, rolls, lose fill and rigid foam boards. Rolls and batts are usually made from fiberglass or rock wool. Loose fill is usually made of fiberglass, rock wool or wood cellulose. Cellulose is usually made from recycled newsprint and treated with fire resistant chemicals. Rigid foam boards are made from poly-isocyanurate,extruded polystyrene or other materials.

State and local building codes usually require a minimum amount of insulation. In warmer climates that may be adequate but probably not, measure your insulation if there is less than R-22 (7 inches of fiberglass or rock wool, 6 inches of cellulose) you can probably benefit from adding more.

General Air Sealing

Warm air leaking into the house in summer and out in winter can waste a lot of energy dollars. air infiltrates in and out of your house in through every nook, crack an cranny. caulking sealing and weather stripping can save substantial dollars. I suggest starting with the attic, keeping warm moist air from infiltrating into the attic is very important. Especially if it isn’t well ventilated. Moisture can cause severe damage to your home. Seal the attic access plumbing and electrical penetrations. Careful not to seal anything that can trap heat and cause a fire hazard, such as recessed light fixtures. Start with the largest leaks and and work your way down to the smaller ones. Most people know their home well enough to know where its leaking air just seal those leaks.  A valuable tool for finding and measuring air leakage is a blower door. The idea is to put the home in winter condition ie: doors and windows closed and depressurize the home by sealing  a large fan into the doorway and measure the amount of air that flows though it at a certain pressure then calculating air changes per hour and the amount of air leakage that exists in the home under natural conditions. A blower door is an expensive piece of equipment but you can probably find a contractor that has one, or the local agency that operates the low income weatherization program will probably run a test for you for a fee. It’s worth checking out.